Woven-wire belt for paper-making machines



Feb. 18, 1930. N. w. WEBB 3 WOVEN WIRE BELT FOR PAPER MAKING MACHINES Original Filed March 5, 1929 I N VEN TOR.

NELEUNN H555- AXBYZMMV ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 18, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE NELSON W. WEBB, OF BELLEVILLE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO EASTWOOD WIRE CORPORATION, OF BELLEVILLE, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY WOVEN-WIRE BELT FOB PAPER-MAKING MACHINES Original application filed March 5, 1929, Serial No. 344,307. Divided and this application filed July 30, 1929. Serial No. 382,184.

The present invention relates to woven wire belts particularly for paper-making machines of the Fourdrinier type, and is a division of my co-pending application Serial Number 344.307, filed March 5, 1929.

These belts are in the form of a continuous band including a transverse seam, where the two ends of the wire cloth are joined, and this seam should have substantially the same ten- 1 sile strength, flexibility, and porosity as the body of the wire, and should be free of any projecting ends or knuckles, or any portions or wire ends that might become projected during use of the belt. The seam should furthermore be substantially continuous with this surface of the body of the wire at each s1 e.

In addition to the detrimental effect that imperfections in the seam may have upon the paper, there is also the chance of injuring the body of the wire, rendering it unfit for further use. Wire belts of this type are usually of very fine weave, say 60 to 80 wires to the inch, and are of large dimensions, say 80 feet long and 20 feet wide, and in their use in the paper machine move at great speed, say 1000 feet a minute. The fineness of the weave and the large size of the belt make the production of a suitable seam very difficult, and the extreme conditions of use put it to such severe strains and stresses that a weak point or irregularity in the seam is apt to open up or stretch, with the result usually that the entire wire belt is spoiled for further use and must be discarded.

From the very,nature of these wire belts they are very expensive and the extreme conditions of use make their period of usefulness relatively short, so that any appreciable increase in the life of the belt not only will result in a very great saving in the cost of manufacture of the-paper produced upon the machine, but will reduce the number 'of times that the machine must be laid up for the installation of a new belt.

The seam is usually produced by a lacing wire that is hand-sewed about the end shoots of weft wire, this operation requiring great skill and deftness, because of the fineness of the weave and the necessity for exact unifomity in all parts of the seam. Obviously the end weft wires are not as securely supported against longitudinal strain as the weft wires in the body of the wire cloth, and any shifting of these end weft wires will tend to spread or cam open the end portions of the warp wires causing them to project beyond the surface of the belt. Various methods have been employed to secure them against the terrific strain they must undergo in use, but these have been unsatisfactory in practice for the most part.

It is an object of the present invention to produce a wire belt in which the end Weft wires are connected to the warp wires in such manner that said end weft wires will resist longitudinal pulling strains equally at all points along the width of the belt, while at the same time every warp wire end will be securely held to the end weft wires against the tendency to spread beyond the surface of the wire cloth, and further to provide such end weft wires of such dimensions that the lacing wire may be carried about them without increasing the thickness of the belt at the seam, and in such manner that the seam will have substantially the same characteristics of strength, flexibility and porosity as the body of the cloth.

To this end it is proposed to provide end weft wires of elongated cross-section, substantially integrally joined to the warp wire ends, as by brazing, in such manner that the union between'them extends over a relatively long junction area longitudinally of the warp wires, and not only over the superimposed surfaces, but also over supporting or trussing areas surrounding the superimposed surfaces, so that the resistance to pulling strains is most effectually opposed to the direction of such strains.

According to the present embodiment of the invention the end weft wires are of ribbonlike cross-section and preferably are of slightly greater cross-sectional width than the diameter of the wires of which the cloth is woven, and are slightly less in thickness than the diameter of such wires.

Another object is to provide an end weft wire which in connection with the warp wire ends will provide a structure which willbe self-brazing upon the application of heat, and so arranged that the end weft wires and warp wire ends will be intimately joined and trussed along their superimposed and immediately adjacent surfaces, without producing uneven lumpy spots, and with perfect uniformity along the entire width of the belt.

In the production of wire belts of the present type it is practically impossible to exactly determine just which weft wire will constitute the end of a length of wire cloth for forming a belt of given length, as the stretching and other operations, which the cloth undergoes. after weaving, as well as varying conditions in the actual weaving, preclude such exact determination, it being borne in mind that in an 80-foot belt there may Joe approximately 70,000 weft wires.

It is also unsatisfactory to weave into the wire cloth, while in the loom, a weft wire having different characteristics of shape or consistency from the regular weft wires, as a different characteristic would be imparted to the warp wires atthis point due to the actions of the heddles and lay, and which might in some cases impair the body'of the cloth rendering it unfit for paper-making machine use.

It is therefore proposed as a further object of the invention to provide an end weft wire, havingdifferent characteristics from the regular weftwires and which may be inserted in the cloth in substitution of and to replace one of the regular weft wires, removed for the purpose, and which will furthermore not injure or impair the structure and uniformity of the cloth.

Another object is to provide end weft wires about which the lacing wire may be directly engaged, and which will so support it that the tendency to bow and roject beyond the surface of the cloth will e obviated, assuring a firm, uniform, and flat seam.

A further object is to provide a seam which, because of the long contacting and joined areas of the end weft wires with the warp wire ends, will be particularly adapted for twill or other loose weave wire belts, where certain of the warp wires at the ends of the cloth may extend over or under two or more weft wires, and therefore are not ordinarily so firmly supported as the others.

With the above and other objects in view, embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, and these embodiments will be hereinafter more fully described with reference thereto, and the invention will be finally pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of the belt at the seam;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view, taken along the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of one end of a belt formed of twill weave wire cloth,

: the warp wires.

and showing the same with the seam-forming end wire, according to the present invention, and before it is secured by the lacing wire to the other end;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view, similar to Fig. 4, and showing a further modification in which two seamforming weft wires are inserted;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the seam-forming weft wire employed; and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the end portion of a belt with the seam-forming wire brazed thereto.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the'drawings.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 thereof, Fig. 1 shows greatly enlarged, a portion of the two ends 0 the wire cloth which are seamed together to At each end a seam-forming end weft wire 12 is provided, this wire being preferably inserted in substitution of a removed weft wire in the manner disclosed in my co-pending application, above mentioned. According to the present embodiment of the invention this seam-forming weftwire is solder coated and fiat or ribbon-like in cross-section, being formed of suitable material, as bronze or brass, the solder covering 13 being preferably a hard or brazing solder, as for instance silver solder.

The cross-sectional dimensions of the wires 12 are such that they may be threaded through In order to provide a final structure of the desired dimensions and crosssection,these wiresare preferably less in their smaller cross-sectional dimension than the diameter of the wires of the cloth, while they .may be slightly or considerably greater in their larger cross-sectional dimension than the diameter of said body wires.

Heat is applied to the edge of the wire cloth containing the wire 12, which may first be coated with a suitable flux to facilitate the brazin action. The adjacent weft wires are prefera 1y shielded durin As the heat is applied the so der flows by ca illary action to superimposed surfaces of t e warp wire ends, also spanningto points upon the warp wires slightly removed from the wire 12to form trussing portions, as indicated at 14.

The relatively wide upper and lower surthis operation.

faces of the wire 12, .not only insure a large junction area between the wires 12 and-the warp wire ends, but so relate the adjacent surfaces that a capillary flow of the metal talies place between said wire 12 and the warp wire ends to integrally join and truss them,

the interstices between the wires being at the same time maintained uniformly free of lumpy spots, because of the capillary flow of the metal from them.

The seam is now completed by hand-sewing the lacing wire 15 about the two butted ends of the length of wire cloth, this lacing wire being preferably of slightly smaller diameter. than the diameter of the warp and weft wires 10 and 11. so that it will not proj ect beyond the surfaces of the belt. By way of example I have shown this lacing Wire sewed directly about the end weft wires 12 and engaged through alternate interstices at each side, but it will be understood that any desired form of lacing may be employed, and in certain instances may be carried about the adjacent weft wires 11. Also in certain instances it may be desirable to provide two or more brazed-in wires 12, instead of the single end wire, as shown, and my invention contemplates such a construction.

The brazed-in wires 12, because of their relatively thin cross-section, do not increase the thickness of the cloth at the end, while their relatively wide and substantially flat surfaces provide a-firm support for the lacing wire, so that the tendency to how, as would be the case with a circular cross-section larger diameter end wire, is effectually prevented. The elongation of the cross-section of the wire 12 longitudinally of the belt provides a seam which will most effectually and uniformly oppose the great strain imposed during use of the belt, and the warp wire ends are furthermore securely held against spreading or camming open, so that the chance of damage to thepaper or the belt from this cause is eliminated.

In Figs. 3 and 4 I have shown the embodiment of my invention in a belt in which the weave is of the twill type, and in which the warp threads 10' are carried over one and under two of the weft threads, while the weft threads 11 are carried over two and under one of the warp threads. Obviously the warp ends have different relations to the end weft wire, certain of them being carried over it and under the next weft wire, others being under it and over the next weft wire, and still others being carried under it and also under the next weft wire, so that there is a greater tendency for these latter ends to spread. The end weft wire 12, according to my invention, is particularly suited to this condition, because of the relatively long junction point with the warp wire ends, which stifiens the loose warp ends against bowing or bending away from the belt surface, and the secure connection of these ends with the end weft wire. In the modification shown in Fig.5 two of the weft wires 11 are removed at the end, and two seam forming wires 12 inserted and brazed in, thus securing the long crimps at two points.

'I have illustrated and described preferred and satisfactory embodiments of my invention, but it will be obvious that changes may be made therein within the spirit and scope thereof, as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a wire cloth belt, a length of woven wire cloth, a weft strand at each end thereof engaged with the warp wire ends and having a substantially ribbon-shaped cross-section elongated longitudinally of the cloth, means securing said weft strand at each end against longitudinal movement relatively to said warp wire ends, and means connecting the ends of said cloth together to form a belt.

2. In a wire cloth belt, a length of woven wire cloth, a weft strand at each end thereof engaged with the warp wire ends and comprising a wire of elongated substantially ribbon-shaped cross-section and connected to said warp wire ends by a metallic junction, and means connecting the ends of said cloth together to form a belt. j

' 3. In a wire cloth belt, a length of woven wire cloth, a. weft strand at each end thereof engaged with the warp wire ends and having a substantially ribbon-shaped cross-section elongated longitudinally of the cloth, and connected to said warp wire ends by a metallic junction coextensive with the superimposed areas of said end weft wires and said warp wire ends and extending beyond said superimposed areas of said warp wire ends, and means connecting the ends of said cloth together to form a belt.

4. In a wire cloth belt, a length of woven wire cloth, a weft strand at each end thereof 4 engaged with the warp wire ends, and comprising a solder-covered wire having a substantially ribbon-shaped cross-section and connected to the warp wire ends by heatproduced solder joints formed from said solder coat, and means connecting the ends of said cloth together to form a belt.

Signed at Belleville, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, this 26th day of July,

NELSON W. WEBB. 

